Tony & Greg return to the airwaves with a special encore show. Tony talks about his experiences living in Tokyo compared to Bangkok and what he misses about living in Thailand. We welcome back past guest Hamish Chalmers to talk about his amazing story about escaping the floods in the middle of the night with his family. We also talk to Michael Biedassek about his recent community initiative that raised over 2 million baht for the flood relief.
On this episode, Tony and Greg discuss the Bangkok Podcast Farewell Dinner, go over some of their favorite shows from the past, get into a few details on what it took to put a show together, and thank a few very important people who worked with us behind the scenes to make sure the podcast grew.
We also want to say a special thanks to each of our guests, who came on the show in their free time and gave people a glimpse into the cool personalities that help make Bangkok such a great city. Thanks again everyone – keep your Bangkok Podcast iTunes, Facebook and Twitter links active – we might be back sooner than you think.
On our last show we invited the venerable Pandit Bhikku back to the studio and we switched things up a bit and let Pandit interview us. Phra Pandit asks us if we believe in God and if we, in fact, believe what we believe, which is one of the key introspective aspects of Buddhism. Needless to say, it gets a bit deep as Tony, Greg and Pandit debate the meaning of belief and the freedom to choose if you even want to believe in anything.
We are very happy to be joined by Mr. Korn Chaitikavanij, Thailand’s ex-finance minister. Although his Democrat party lost Thailand’s most recent election, he is still an MP and is a high profile member of the Thai political landscape. Khun Korn talks to us about what it was like running in the election, which was one of the most fiercely contested in Thai history, and what his thoughts are now that his party is now the opposition.
In our continuing Thai language series, we are pleased to welcome film and television actor, translator, and all-around nice guy Peter Tuinstra. Peter’s path to learning Thai was a bit different than most students as he studied under the watchful eye of the U.S. Air Force at the elite Defense Language Institute; 8 hours a day, 5 days a week for 1 year.
In our continuing Buddhism series, we are joined by a special guest, Bhikkuni Suvijjana, a female monk who is visiting Thailand from the US. Female monks are rare, but the tide is slowly turning, and Bhikkuni Suvijjana gives us an interesting look into how she sees Buddhism on a daily basis.
We get a lot of questions from expat parents and parents-to-be about what it’s like raising a family in Bangkok. Since Tony and Greg are little more than man-children themselves, we brought Jack Prinya, proud dad of triplets, on the show to talk about the challenges of raising a family in Bangkok.
We are joined by Stuart McDonald, President, Founder, and all around big boss at Travelfish, one of the most respected independent travel sites online. Stuart gives us a fascinating look into building a travel site from nothing, shares with us a few inside tips and talks about how technology is changing the travel experience.
Every Westerner knows that when you’re hurt back home, you call the emergency number and get taken to the hospital, but things in Bangkok work a little differently. Today we talk with Marko Cunningham from Bangkok Free Ambulance, a service that he has run for many years – at his own expense, no less – that provides free ambulance services for those who need it, Thais, tourists and expats alike.
Bangkok Podcast talks to Mod, who is a Thai language instructor. She who gives us some interesting insights into what problems we all have, how we sound to Thai ears, and how our native accents affect our speaking ability.
Bangkok Podcast talks to Marisa Cranfill, who is one of Thailand’s foremost experts on Thai spirit houses. She gives us the lowdown on what’s inside the little structures, why you’ll most commonly see red Fanta soda sitting on the mini ‘porch’, and what happens to all that food that people leave as offerings?
Our Buddhism series continues with Phra Pandit talking to us about how Buddhism views science. Is it as hostile as some other religions often see it, or is it more of a peaceful co-existence? Are there areas which conflict with The Buddha’s teachings, or does Buddhism take every new discovery in stride?
The image of a beautiful Thai women is one that is known throughout the world; however, only slightly less well known is the image of a beautiful Thai women who was born a man. Call them what you willl – transexual, transgender, ladyboy, katoey – their place in Thai culture goes back thousands of years, but despite the history, and despite Thailand being very accepting of them, it’s not always an easy life.
On this episode of Bangkok Podcast we talk to Brett Whiteside from the website Learn Thai From A White Guy. Brett is one of the few foreigners in Thailand who teach Thai and he talks to us about his road from wide-eyed tourist to competent speaker, translator, consultant and tutor is unique in that the only person he had help him was himself.
Bangkok Podcast talks to Bangkok Post columnist Voranai Vanijaka about the upcoming election in Thailand. Voranai gives his view on the current landscape of Thai politics, what he thinks will happen after the election, why the election is about more than just one person, and how we all play a part in making sure Thailand moves forward instead of backward.
Bangkok Podcast talks to Ms. Kristie Kenney, the American Ambassador to Thailand. Formerly Ambassador to both Ecuadaor and the Philippines, she is a career diplomat with a deep understanding of geopolitics, history, and diplomacy, and is also the first female ambassador to the Land of Smiles.
We talk to Chris Lowenstein, line producer for the movie “The Hangover Part II”. Chris talks to us about the film industry in Thailand – what they’re doing right, what they could improve, and what it’s like working within a system that’s notoriously fickle when it comes to censorship. He also tells us a few stories from The Hangover Part II such as how hard it was to shut down parts of Chinatown, and how a boat they hired in California ended up getting lost on a Chinese river.
In our continuing Thai language series we are joined by Daniel Fraser – co-founder of Smiling Albino, film actor, television host, and of course, speaker of Thai. Dan gives us a very funny and insightful into how he learned Thai and how speaking Thai has helped him grow his business.
In our continuing Bangkok Podcast Buddhism series, we sit down with Robin Moore, who spent over a decade as a monk in both the UK and Thailand, but eventually left the monk hood and rejoined lay-life. He tells us about his interesting journey, from being drawn to Buddhism as a teenager to why his mother cried when he joined the monk hood – and cried again when he left.
As one of the best known and most popular DJ’s in town, DJ Octo spins at top venues like Q Bar and Bed Supperclub, and collaborates with a wide network of musicians, videographers, performers and artists to keep Bangkok’s party crowds going late into the night.
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